Author
Topic: What are your favorite board games? (Read 51209 times)

I've noticed lots of fellow board game lovers here, but I didn't find any threads on board games in the archives. Maybe we could share some recommendations! IMO, while some get a little pricey, board games are pretty mustachian compared to lots of other forms of entertainment too. I think an interest in strategy games goes along with the personalities that are generally attracted to mustacianism- strategizers/optimizes/game-the-system-ers.

Some favorites at my house are Settlers of catan, Ticket to ride, and Pandemic.

We like some fluffy social games when friends are around too like Cranium and Cards against humanity.

I would like to avoid the argument as to whether or not some of these are board games.

Settlers of CatanCards Against Humanity and/or Apples to Apples (depending on crowd - the former has caused some arguments with some friends as of late)Fluxx and variations thereof (Star Fluxx is my favorite)MunchkinShogun and/or Axis Allies (much better than Risk, although the latter isn't very balanced)Bang!Guillotine Unexploded Cow (and just about anything from CheapAss Games; I hope they're still around)

Dominion - So much depth and replay value that I haven't touched anything else in months. You can play online a Goko, if anyone wants to challenge me to a game just let me know!Eclipse - We used to play this a bunch during lunch at work until the guy that owned it got a new job.Wits and Wagers - Great party game for people that aren't going to be into the super strategic options. Trivia + Betting

Dixit is a good one, but has limited replayability. I just googled though and it looks like there's expansions now, which wasn't the case last time I looked.

Logged

We are two former teachers who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, and now travel the world full time with two kids.If you want to know more about me, or how we did that, or see lots of pictures, this Business Insider profile tells our story pretty well.We (occasionally) blog at AdventuringAlong.com.You can also read my forum "Journal."

Does anyone have any recommendations for really good, strategic games that aren't competitive? Pandemic is a favorite because its a cooperative game-everyone is on the same team trying to save the world from being wiped out by a pandemic disease. But it's still fun because the game is pretty hard to win.

The problem is none of the people that play games with me are really, um, all that good at games. So then I always win and no one will play those games with me anymore. :P Any suggestions where it's harder for one decent player to dominate/ less intense players aren't going to feel bad and not have any fun? (But still a fun, smart, non-baby-ish game)

Dixit is a good one, but has limited replayability. I just googled though and it looks like there's expansions now, which wasn't the case last time I looked.

I am a fan of Dominion as well, except for the Alchemy expansion.

Dixit at least has two expansions, which I have played. It may not be repeatable in a small group of constrained thinkers, though four of us have gone through each pile several times with it still being fresh.

I have an avowed socialist friend who always wants to play USSR in Twilight Struggle. I think the game is awesome, but I usually don't want to plop the time into it often.

Does anyone have any recommendations for really good, strategic games that aren't competitive?

I think one of the LotR games is cooperative, but I don't play it often since making unified decisions can be a power struggle in my play group.

I much prefer Dixit (and other similar ones, like headbands, a variant on 20-questions) since it is inherently non-competitive, yet you can still try to win, and the tension for shared decisions is not there.

Does anyone have any recommendations for really good, strategic games that aren't competitive? Pandemic is a favorite because its a cooperative game-everyone is on the same team trying to save the world from being wiped out by a pandemic disease. But it's still fun because the game is pretty hard to win.

The problem is none of the people that play games with me are really, um, all that good at games. So then I always win and no one will play those games with me anymore. :P Any suggestions where it's harder for one decent player to dominate/ less intense players aren't going to feel bad and not have any fun? (But still a fun, smart, non-baby-ish game)

The Dungeons and Dragons Castle Ravenloft board game is a very fun, cooperative game.

Forbidden Island is an easier game that is similar to Pandemic.

Zombicide is a great cooperative game, but it's not exactly easy.

Dominion is lots of fun, however the better player will win most of the time. (Great husband and wife game)

Escape: The Curse of the Temple is a great cooperative game that anyone can learn to play.

I just got Battue recently and while strategy helps alot, there is also a lot of luck so both novices and experts can have a decent amount of fun.

The problem is none of the people that play games with me are really, um, all that good at games. So then I always win and no one will play those games with me anymore. :P Any suggestions where it's harder for one decent player to dominate/ less intense players aren't going to feel bad and not have any fun? (But still a fun, smart, non-baby-ish game)

Scotland Yard is great for this, the one decent player can be the criminal and the rest of the players try to track him.

The wife is a serious board gamer, so I've played a whole bunch. She tells me that boardgamegeek.com is *the* place to go for reviews and recommendations. That said, a few of my favorites:

Chess - For those of us that prefer strategy to shiny bits of plastic ;)

Mr Jack - we've got the travel version. Great two player game, reminds me of chess in that it takes a lot of planning and forethought to play well.

Hive - still not sure I love it, but it's interesting and portable

Fluxx - just kind of silly fun. Though some of the expansions (eg, Zombies) seem to lead to a near-endless game.

Cards Against Humanity - but only if you're drinking. And definitely not with your mother (yes, I did that once. And she played the "Oedipus Complex" card...)

Pandemic - A cooperative game, so it's good if you have some non-gamers or non-competitive types in the group (like your mom)

Traders of Carthage - a good optimization game. Plays well even with just two players.

Of course, if you want to get all Mustachian about it, just get a deck of cards. You can play dozens (hundreds?) of games with just that one deck. Personally, I'm a fan of euchre or spades if you can get four players.

I LOOOOve board games! I have a big collection, but a lot of them are kid ones. I sometimes joke that I had kids so that Id have people to play games with. I grew up playing games with my siblings and parents.

ones that have not been mentioned yet:

Strategy:

Quoridor. can be played by almost any age, simple board and pieces. Can be infuriating! :) 2 or 4 players

Quirkle Cubes.

Blokus

Wordy:

Wise and Otherwise (super fun for groups. I have literally peed my pants playing this)

In a Pickle

Tribond

Cards:

Set

Anomia (great fun multiplayer)

Skip-bo (this is a classic fave from when I was young. Still fun, and you can still chat and talk while you play)

I also really like this game called Lost Cities. Its a 2 player card game. The edition I have is really pretty.

Yahtzee! :)

(trivial pursuit editions are pretty much always at the thrift store around me. we have several sets of cards/editions-for that matter, you can find some real gems at the thrift store in terms of games. I got a beautiful 1970s version of Risk with the old wooden armies. for 1$)

Apparently I need to get dominion! Seems like that's a big favorite. I've almost bought it on a couple times, but my husband thinks it seems too "dweeby" and wasn't interested. How complicated would you Dominion players say the rules of the game are? (If they are terribly complicated my chances of getting any of the family or friends I see on a regular basis to play it with me are very slim unfortunately.)

The problem is none of the people that play games with me are really, um, all that good at games. So then I always win and no one will play those games with me anymore. :P

I have this problem as well, although I also have a group of friends (back in L.A., though, none yet in my 6-weeks new home) who were very serious. I think some people just don't care and you can't make them care about board games, so I do other activities with them.

My FAVORITE game is Agricola, the German game of agriculture. Really, really fun. And complicated.

I also enjoy:* Dominion (card game similar to Magic The Gathering but everyone uses the same set of cards)* Hive (1 on 1 strategy game)* Neuroshima Hex (strategy)* Bang! (Italian card game. I still don't get why the Italians are so obsessed with the old west, they have stores all over the place specializing in this stuff. Any Italian mustachians care to explain?)* Carcassonne, but mostly I'll play it with children

Apparently I need to get dominion! Seems like that's a big favorite. I've almost bought it on a couple times, but my husband thinks it seems too "dweeby" and wasn't interested. How complicated would you Dominion players say the rules of the game are? (If they are terribly complicated my chances of getting any of the family or friends I see on a regular basis to play it with me are very slim unfortunately.)

It took 10 minutes to teach my wife's parents (in their 60s) to play. Her dad even won one game.

It's not very dweeby, although anyone who doesn't play a game because it's "dweeby" is really missing out on some fun :)

The entire game really boils down to a few simple rules and the rest is written on the cards.

It took 10 minutes to teach my wife's parents (in their 60s) to play. Her dad even won one game.

It's not very dweeby, although anyone who doesn't play a game because it's "dweeby" is really missing out on some fun :)

The entire game really boils down to a few simple rules and the rest is written on the cards.

10 minutes to explain sounds ideal!! Now to spend a few months agonizing over whether I should spend the money or not.

Haha I try to convince him all the time that a grown man worrying about doing something that might seem a little "dweeby" is ridiculous, but we all have our quirks I suppose.

Maybe what I really need is more game playing friends who will play the dweebier games with me (and who have games that I don't have so I don't have to buy them). If only I weren't such a dweeby hermit maybe I could find some. :P

Great thread! I am a Catan fan myself as well. Actually going to another game night Saturday.I also like Carcassonne (both board game and online version) and Civilisation

I had so many that I had to give away to friends or sold for very cheap, before our move.My heart was bleeding! But I also know I can probably replace them cheaply if I want to.I still have a good stack left, including Clue, Talisman and a bunch of others

My friends have been successful at picking up board games at goodwill and saversI need to go look. I'd definitely like my own catan and am hoping to find Taboo as well!

Evakatharina - you may want to look into Shadows Over Camelot - that is a good, older cooperative game. Also, Arkaham Horror (1980s edition or the more recent one) is a decent cooperative game. The 1980s version plays a whole lot quicker than the recent version (which runs 4+ hours). Finally, Acquire has enough luck involved (particularly if you are not with a card-counting group) that I've found it to be good for non-gamers (it was the non-gamer gateway game until Dominion, Agricola and Settlers came along...Settlers being the biggest game out there to finally bring "gaming spouses"/non-gamer friends to the gaming table)

Feel free to try it out before you buy it, they have single player mode too so you can learn how to play before playing people online that might not have as much patience. Dominion can get expensive though because it gets exponentially better with each expansion... judging the game by only the base set may leave you a little disappointed.

I have a few,Dungeons and Dragons, nothing like killing a few party members to get the blood moving ^^MunchkinCards against Humanity (only play with the not easily offended)RiskRisk: 2210 A.D. Good ole MonopolyPoker, preferably Omaha or Stud but sadly most only play Texas Hold'EmWarhammer 40k (I scratch build most of my armies and terrain)Many other Pen and Paper RPGs (if you can't find a group i reccomend roll20.net it's free and easy to find a group playing your game)

Dominion was fun when I played it but seems kinda pricey if you get really into it.

Agreed, I wouldn't play it if my friend didn't already have it. To get everything would probably set you back a couple hundred dollars.

When you struggle when people ask you "What do you want for Christmas/Birthday" it's great to hand them a list of Dominion expansions.

Logged

We are two former teachers who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, and now travel the world full time with two kids.If you want to know more about me, or how we did that, or see lots of pictures, this Business Insider profile tells our story pretty well.We (occasionally) blog at AdventuringAlong.com.You can also read my forum "Journal."

Does anyone have any recommendations for really good, strategic games that aren't competitive? Pandemic is a favorite because its a cooperative game-everyone is on the same team trying to save the world from being wiped out by a pandemic disease. But it's still fun because the game is pretty hard to win.

The problem is none of the people that play games with me are really, um, all that good at games. So then I always win and no one will play those games with me anymore. :P Any suggestions where it's harder for one decent player to dominate/ less intense players aren't going to feel bad and not have any fun? (But still a fun, smart, non-baby-ish game)

You need to choose Eurogames / Party Games with a significant luck element to give less experienced or weaker players an opportunity to win. Good examples of this include

Settlers of CatanCan't StopRoll Through the AgesRaWits and WagersJust For Fun

Poor choices would include the following, because they are optimization games with very little luck involved. But great games all the same, and I enjoy all of them.

You need to choose Eurogames / Party Games with a significant luck element to give less experienced or weaker players an opportunity to win. Good examples of this include

Settlers of CatanCan't StopRoll Through the AgesRaWits and WagersJust For Fun

I haven't played any of the others on the list, but based on the two I bolded that I have played, those aren't good examples of games with lots of luck for everyone to have a shot to win.

I don't lose at Settlers. Nor do good players (see discussion with Sol in the thread I linked to in my first post in this thread.)

And wits and wagers nearly always goes to the best players as well. After 10 questions the bad players are left with their initial starting chips, the good players have had to break out poker chips for higher denominations because all the blue and red chips that came with the set are out (setting them at 1 and 5 denominations).

"War" is a card game everyone has a shot at. Hearts is not. Crazy 8s is in the middle (there's tons of strategy to Crazy 8s).

Settlers is Hearts. Wits and wagers is between crazy 8s and hearts.

YMMV, apparently.

Logged

We are two former teachers who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, and now travel the world full time with two kids.If you want to know more about me, or how we did that, or see lots of pictures, this Business Insider profile tells our story pretty well.We (occasionally) blog at AdventuringAlong.com.You can also read my forum "Journal."

And wits and wagers nearly always goes to the best players as well. After 10 questions the bad players are left with their initial starting chips, the good players have had to break out poker chips for higher denominations because all the blue and red chips that came with the set are out (setting them at 1 and 5 denominations).

Indeed, I usually win and I'm pretty bad at trivia, most people don't understand that you should use all of your chips each round and split them up, the expected value is positive even if you can't eliminate any choices. Also, you really even need more than two good players, otherwise whoever gets ahead within the first couple rounds can just match exactly the bets of whomever they perceive to be the biggest threat and they will always be ahead. We've had to implement a blind betting system to solve that problem but it can become a pain.

I haven't played any of the others on the list, but based on the two I bolded that I have played, those aren't good examples of games with lots of luck for everyone to have a shot to win.

I don't lose at Settlers. Nor do good players (see discussion with Sol in the thread I linked to in my first post in this thread.)

I agree that settlers doesn't have enough of a luck element to keep a good player from winning all the time. I NEVER lose (even with terrible luck of the dice, and against my best game playing friends), and I'm not THAT good. With settlers, once you figure out how it works, it's actually pretty hard to lose.

And wits and wagers nearly always goes to the best players as well. After 10 questions the bad players are left with their initial starting chips, the good players have had to break out poker chips for higher denominations because all the blue and red chips that came with the set are out (setting them at 1 and 5 denominations).

Indeed, I usually win and I'm pretty bad at trivia, most people don't understand that you should use all of your chips each round and split them up, the expected value is positive even if you can't eliminate any choices. Also, you really even need more than two good players, otherwise whoever gets ahead within the first couple rounds can just match exactly the bets of whomever they perceive to be the biggest threat and they will always be ahead. We've had to implement a blind betting system to solve that problem but it can become a pain.

We do a timing bet system, you can bet and move your chips around til the buzzer goes off (like in Roulette), so there is still some gamesmanship to the betting, but you can't completely Jeopardy it.

Logged

We are two former teachers who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, and now travel the world full time with two kids.If you want to know more about me, or how we did that, or see lots of pictures, this Business Insider profile tells our story pretty well.We (occasionally) blog at AdventuringAlong.com.You can also read my forum "Journal."

We do a timing bet system, you can bet and move your chips around til the buzzer goes off (like in Roulette), so there is still some gamesmanship to the betting, but you can't completely Jeopardy it.

Ya, but then it would just be a staredown during the last couple seconds while the second place player tried to move his chips before the first place player could follow him. Maybe, we're too competitive but that's what would happen. Thinking a good solution though would be to just place bets in order from first place to last.

We do a timing bet system, you can bet and move your chips around til the buzzer goes off (like in Roulette), so there is still some gamesmanship to the betting, but you can't completely Jeopardy it.

Ya, but then it would just be a staredown during the last couple seconds while the second place player tried to move his chips before the first place player could follow him. Maybe, we're too competitive but that's what would happen. Thinking a good solution though would be to just place bets in order from first place to last.

Yes, it is like that at times. We also have done the first bets first, then second, and so on, as you suggested. People get hints as to what to bet if they have no idea, but it is a handicap for those behind, which isn't bad.

Logged

We are two former teachers who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, and now travel the world full time with two kids.If you want to know more about me, or how we did that, or see lots of pictures, this Business Insider profile tells our story pretty well.We (occasionally) blog at AdventuringAlong.com.You can also read my forum "Journal."

Anomia is a fun game for a bunch of people. Its a card game where you have to come up with new answers all the time for different categories. Apples to Apples and Dixit are similar, I think, and I think those are good for groups. Wise and Otherwise is like the last two I mentioned as well. Its about havning answers that other people pick.

Does anyone have any recommendations for really good, strategic games that aren't competitive? Pandemic is a favorite because its a cooperative game-everyone is on the same team trying to save the world from being wiped out by a pandemic disease. But it's still fun because the game is pretty hard to win.

The problem is none of the people that play games with me are really, um, all that good at games. So then I always win and no one will play those games with me anymore. :P Any suggestions where it's harder for one decent player to dominate/ less intense players aren't going to feel bad and not have any fun? (But still a fun, smart, non-baby-ish game)

We have been making a shift to more cooperative style board games (Like Pandemic) A couple of our favorites are Castle Panic (and Wizards Tower expansion) and Elder Signs.

Wil Wheaton has a channel on youtube called TableTop where they play different games, In true Wheaton fashion - you'll either love it or hate it, but it is great for being introduced to new games and at least getting the idea if you will like it without spending a lot. Here is his Castle Panic Episode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpuTGWFkBYs

The Dungeons and Dragons Castle Ravenloft board game is a very fun, cooperative game.

Forbidden Island is an easier game that is similar to Pandemic.

Zombicide is a great cooperative game, but it's not exactly easy.

Dominion is lots of fun, however the better player will win most of the time. (Great husband and wife game)

Escape: The Curse of the Temple is a great cooperative game that anyone can learn to play.

I just got Battue recently and while strategy helps alot, there is also a lot of luck so both novices and experts can have a decent amount of fun.

Also....I may spend a lot of money on board games :-D

Do you have any suggestion for cards sets for Dominion that work especially well with two people? Hubby and I play all the time, but more often then not we'll find we have chosen a set-up with cards that seem really unbalanced for two people and then it seems like a slaughter, which really isn't too much fun.

We've been enjoying Castle Panic. I love that you can play it with 2 people and the fact that is is a cooperative game (where you work with the other players to defeat the game, instead of working against them to win the game) eases my freakishly competitive nature.

If you aren't familiar with it, check out Will Wheaton's TableTop Youtube channel, where you can watch it, and other games, be played. It's a good resource for checking out a game before you buy because it allows you to see it played and get a sense for whether it would be a good fit for you.

As was mentioned, Forbidden Island is another good 2-person cooperative game, though it plays much faster.

ETA: I guess I should have read the rest of the thread, as I see there is a nearly identical post already.